~Loyola University Lacrosse 2019~

[Peter Brown]

So Loyola fans I will pose the question what has been going on with the Hounds the last few weeks? Based on some of the comments sounds like it could be a few different things. I haven't been to a game at Loyola so looking forward to catching one in person based on the reputation it gets as a home field!

Generally they haven't won many 1v1 matchups on the defensive end. Offense has had a either bad shooting, bad turnovers or in the Army game both. Spencer hasn't been at his best since probably the Lehigh game either. The defensive stuff has been a long term problem so for me it'll be up the the offense and Stover to step up and carry this team as far as they can.

The defense has been stellar the last 3 games; before that, they couldn't get any symmetry on slides which led to bad outings like Gtown and BU. The offense frankly is more my worry. When we don't can our first few shots, we seem to go into a game-long funk with no desire to change the trajectory. That's not a great tell on a team's toughness.

[Peter Brown]

So Loyola fans I will pose the question what has been going on with the Hounds the last few weeks? Based on some of the comments sounds like it could be a few different things. I haven't been to a game at Loyola so looking forward to catching one in person based on the reputation it gets as a home field!

Some teams start hot, others end hot. We started hot. My bigger tell for my Hounds is when we've lost, occasionally we've been blown out...BU, Duke. Cuse has not been blown out once this year...they've been in every game, That to me shows a team with some intestinal fortitude.

It will literally take a perfect game from the Hounds this Saturday to beat Cuse. Any team including Loyola has the ability at this stage to get on a heater and roll...I have no call on my Hounds if they will do that but my gut tells me this is the end this weekend. I hope I'm wrong but my eyes won't lie with what I have seen. My only prayer is Toomey finds a trick to get these boys to perform like they did when the season began.

[houndace1]

The defense finally appears to be gelling with slides coming quicker and recovery being better, in my limited opinion. Its what peter mentioned with the offense. The ball isn't moving quickly enough unlike the beginning of the season where it was crisp and flowing. Too many iso dodges where they can't get by their defender. Add the fact that there's been shooting woes.. All ends in stagnant offensive showings

[Laxdoc31]

Should be an even matchup. Mellen is capable of following the blueprint that Van Rhaaphorst, Smith, and Surdick put on tape. The hounds will need secondary scoring to have a chance. The offense functions better in transition, which seems to have slowed recently. To my eye, the lsm's are not driving transition the way they were earlier, so I question whether they are banged up. The shorties haven't shown much all season. Savio should be able to hold his own at the x, but wing play is a real concern as the Hounds have consistently been beaten on the GBs. Syracuse's athleticism is a real concern on what should be 50/50 balls and their wing play is elite. On the positive side, the defense will have an easier time containing the Cuse O as the Hounds tend to struggle against alpha attackmen. Wyers has a bright future, but as the current shutdown D, he is prone to taking a false step a few times per game that the elite attackmen take advantage of. Cuse's attack are good but not alpha (Solomon's 36 points were good enough for 1st team all ACC but 36 points is still 36 points). Stover has the ability to cover up mistakes and steal a game if he is on. Offense will probably struggle. Hounds have no true north/south dodging ability. Scanlan has been scouted and needs to adjust. Army showed that clearly. Duffy needs to find his game as I believe he is key to the secondary scoring. He used to have a good downhill dodge, but lately its a lot of east/west up top. He has got to get to the alley and let it rip and start making the opposing teams initiate slide sequences.

All in all, this is a matchup of 8 and 9 seeds and I see the score following in similar fashion.

[TheBigIguana]

So Loyola fans I will pose the question what has been going on with the Hounds the last few weeks? Based on some of the comments sounds like it could be a few different things. I haven't been to a game at Loyola so looking forward to catching one in person based on the reputation it gets as a home field!

Generally they haven't won many 1v1 matchups on the defensive end. Offense has had a either bad shooting, bad turnovers or in the Army game both. Spencer hasn't been at his best since probably the Lehigh game either. The defensive stuff has been a long term problem so for me it'll be up the the offense and Stover to step up and carry this team as far as they can.

The defense has been stellar the last 3 games; before that, they couldn't get any symmetry on slides which led to bad outings like Gtown and BU. The offense frankly is more my worry. When we don't can our first few shots, we seem to go into a game-long funk with no desire to change the trajectory. That's not a great tell on a team's toughness.

Stover makes the defense look better than they are sometimes. The first Army game was pretty good and so was Lafayette but that hardly matters because Lafayette just isn't that good. On Friday they were really awful in the first half and Stover single handedly kept it close. I think Army had 31 shots at halftime and a good number where point blank and saved. Generally good offensive teams have scored on us and I'm genuinely concerned about how they'll handle the speed of Curry on Saturday.

[houndace1]

Quick little interview i found on twitter when Toomey was interviewed after they found out they were hosting a first round game:

"We feel a lot better about ourselves, knowing we have one more game in front of our fans, as opposed to friday afternoon ... when we thought it was all over"

"We've got to find that energy and passion that we played with earlier in the year and rekindle that flame. I think i will, i know this team, and we'll get ready to play a big game at home"

[Voyuer]

Stop!! Loyola does not need to play perfect to beat Syracuse!! Syracuse is a good, but no where near, a great team. They have lost a game badly and it was to COLGATE! Yes early in the year but Gate dominated them. Loyola clearly is not playing well. If the Loyola of Spencer dominating, and everyone else playing their role, shows up they will WIN. Of course if they play like the last few games they will LOSE. I think the D can match-up well with the Syracuse O and switch up Zone and Man vs them. . But I like this matchup for the Hounds as Syracuse is up and down, particularly on the D end, and if the Loyola O train gets momentum it is hard to stop.

[Peter Brown]

Stop!! Loyola does not need to play perfect to beat Syracuse!! Syracuse is a good, but no where near, a great team. They have lost a game badly and it was to COLGATE! Yes early in the year but Gate dominated them. Loyola clearly is not playing well. If the Loyola of Spencer dominating, and everyone else playing their role, shows up they will WIN. Of course if they play like the last few games they will LOSE. I think the D can match-up well with the Syracuse O and switch up Zone and Man vs them. . But I like this matchup for the Hounds as Syracuse is up and down, particularly on the D end, and if the Loyola O train gets momentum it is hard to stop.

Voyeur: that's wildly inaccurate. 'Gate was up one goal with 5 minutes to go, and scored an empty netter with 40 secs left. 'Cuse did not 'lose this game badly' nor were they 'dominated'. And there is zero doubt that today they would crush that same 'Gate squad which ended the year miserably.

[Peter Brown]

Quick little interview i found on twitter when Toomey was interviewed after they found out they were hosting a first round game:

"We feel a lot better about ourselves, knowing we have one more game in front of our fans, as opposed to friday afternoon ... when we thought it was all over"

"We've got to find that energy and passion that we played with earlier in the year and rekindle that flame. I think i will, i know this team, and we'll get ready to play a big game at home"

A coach always knows what his team has in the tank. You can read Charlie's quote as blunt honesty or as poker-face. It'll be interesting to see if the Hounds (hopefully) have a way to regain that early season form, or if what we've seen recently is who they are now and the end is very soon. I know neither Stover nor Bailey will go down without a fight.

[NovaHound]

It was a tough weekend for the Hounds, not knowing what would happen but I suspect they are hyped to be playing on Saturday. PB is correct, Toomey knows what his team is capable of and I'm sure they will be prepared. Loyola has been kinda up/down/up/down this season and I hope they are back on the "up" Saturday. I will predict that they will be fired up but whether or not that translates to a win is beyond me or anyone else right now. The Seniors know it's their last game at Ridley. And every lax fan is well aware of the "Orange" tradition and history so this will be an exciting game.

According to the Orange, "Syracuse is 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament against the Greyhounds. The Orange most recently played a tournament game against Loyola in the 1999 NCAA Quarterfinal. The Orange have twice faced them in the quarterfinal round and also defeated them in the 1990 NCAA title game. ‘Cuse has never played an NCAA Tournament game at Loyola." OK, Hounds have never made it pass SU in the NCAAT. I don't really believe in all that because it's up to the team you have for the game.

If you're a lax fan this will be an exciting game to watch.

[lagerhead]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

[DMac]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Pretty sure he let 21 get by him that day too.

Weather prediction is cloudy and in the 60s for game day.
Cuse boys haven't seen the sun or warm weather all year,
you guys need to pray to the gods for more sun and heat.

[Peter Brown]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Pretty sure he let 21 get by him that day too.

Weather prediction is cloudy and in the 60s for game day.
Cuse boys haven't seen the sun or warm weather all year,
you guys need to pray to the gods for more sun and heat.

Setting aside the glaring issue of why anyone in their right mind would choose to live full-time in an area of this great country where the sun comes out for all of four months a year, I disagree Dmac on the Orange boys being weakened by the heat and sun. I have always felt that the lax boys from upstate NY, when they finally taste warm weather and see the sun for the first time in six months, are like puppies in a new home...insane joy, boundless energy and waves of excitement.

So I will take the other side of that bet and tell you that it is actually Loyola that would prefer to have overcast conditions, not Syracuse. That all said, if you have read my posts here, you also know I am not too confident about this weekend.

Finally, upstate NY is fantastic in the summer. Winter and spring, errrr, not so much.

[Peter Brown]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Perhaps the NCAA should drug test the Orange on Saturday morning?

Why didn't Curry go to Loyola btw?!? We really could have used him.

[Pensky Material]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Perhaps the NCAA should drug test the Orange on Saturday morning?

Why didn't Curry go to Loyola btw?!? We really could have used him.

I believe Curry was initially a Penn commit before changing to the Orange.

[Antonio114]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Perhaps the NCAA should drug test the Orange on Saturday morning?

Why didn't Curry go to Loyola btw?!? We really could have used him.

His dad was a star at SU back in the day. They get a large number of recruits due to various family ties. He is also the guy that Loyola should worry about the most. He doesn't always blow up the stat sheet, but if there was a "slides drawn" statistic officially kept, Curry would be towards the top of the list.

[Pensky Material]

While they did defeat Loyola in 1990 the NCAA vacated the Orange win. Toomey was in goal for the hounds.

Perhaps the NCAA should drug test the Orange on Saturday morning?

Why didn't Curry go to Loyola btw?!? We really could have used him.

His dad was a star at SU back in the day. They get a large number of recruits due to various family ties. He is also the guy that Loyola should worry about the most. He doesn't always blow up the stat sheet, but if there was a "slides drawn" statistic officially kept, Curry would be towards the top of the list.

You are correct when Curry gets moving I don't think there is anyone who can keep up with him. The problem though is his shooting has been to inconsistent. With 2 spots opening up at attack next season and Dordevic coming back I've seen talk about moving him to attack but Syracuse could have a really stacked 1st line if he doesn't.

[New2lax]

Finally, It's Spencer's last year as we all know and we all want this team to win it all. So let's root for them as hard as we can, scout, devise gameplans etc.

Just a tidbit i thought of with no significance but. Loyola last won in 2012. Spencer wears #7. Lucky Number 7 .... 7 years since the title. See where i could be lightheartedly going..

Love this post, and I too believe in luck and magic....7 is a lucky number. I will go lightheartedly there with you!

[NovaHound]

I like your style New2Lax... I hope we all get treated to some great lax this weekend. For the Orange fans who haven't seen #7 play in person you might be in for a real treat - if he has a good game. His last two games have not been up to his standards. If the offense is clicking you'll notice 31 Lindley, 19 Olmstead and 18 Scanlon getting some nice feeds or scoring on their own. Hopefully #5 can demonstrate his step down down shot. And if Stover plays like Stover you will see a lot of saves and some quick clears in transition. I do believe your Coach and team is aware of all of that and will make game plans accordingly. It's no secret that taking good shots and getting the clock reset can wear down a good D. That's been our achilles heel this season - getting worn down. Let's see how much zone we play. The real workhorse for Loyola IMO is our FOGO Savio. I hope he eats his Wheaties for the pregame meal.

So Hounds need a good game in Priority order from:

Savio
Stover
Spencer

I believe we'll see an intensity from the Hounds not seen since UVA and Hopkins.

But this game remains a True Toss Up.

[Mr3Putt]

In the UNC game I don’t feel like Curry got enough runs. He was 1g on 5 shots, but didn’t seem he was in enough. Loyola has to win FO’s!